GIFT  OF 


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OCT  a 


STATE  OF  NEW  JERSEY 

DEPARTMENT  OF  PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION 

TRENTON 


The  Teaching 
of  Spelling 


June  1912 


STATE  OF  .N.EW  JERSEY 

DEPARTMENT  OF  PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION 

TRENTON 


The  Teaching  of 
Spelling 


June  1912 


CONTENTS. 

Pages. 

Foreword     3-4 

Two  Types  of  Spelling  Lessons 5 

Word  Study 6 

Pronunciation     6 

Syllabication     6 

Phonograms     7 

Accent : T 

Diacritical   Marks    T 

Meaning  of  Words    8 

Synonyms     8 

Dictation     8 

U  -e    in    Sentences    8 

The  Teaching  of  Spelling Q 

Interest     10 

Selection  of  Material    11 

Spelling    Books    12 

Methods  of  Study  with  Pupils 12 

Assignment  or  Study  with  the  Teacher 12 

Two  Lesson  Plans   13 

Independent  Study  by  Pupils 15 

Home   Study    15 

Testing     15 

Carelessness    J  6 

Length  of  Lesson    16 

Reviews     16 

D'Fering  Authorities,  Use  of  Dictionary   17 

Rules  for  Spelling    17 

Spelling  in  Grammar  Grades 19 

Spelling   in  the  Eighth  Grade   23 

Spelling  in  Primary  Grades 26 

Spelling   in  Ungraded   Schools 30 


Foreword 


The  statutes  of  the  state  require,  and  the  public  demands, 
that  spelling  be  taught  in  the  public  schools. 

Intelligent  persons  realize  that  the  faultless  spelling  of  Eng- 
lish words  is  an  art  difficult  to  attain,  much  more  so  for  some  per- 
sons than  for  others.  Nevertheless,  failure  to  spell  correctly  is 
'ommonly  regarded  as  a  sign  of  illiteracy. 

The  purpose  of  this  monograph  is  to  offer  constructive  sugges- 
tions to  teachers  concerning  the  teaching  of  a  subject  in  which 
there  is  so  much  popular  interest.  It  is  believed  that  good 
teaching — not  merely  hearing  lessons — will  bring  about  good  re- 
sults in  this,  as  well  as  in  the  other  activities  of  the  school. 

Good  teaching  is  dependent  upon  the  size  of  classes,  upon  the 
number  of  words  taught,  upon  the  judicious  selection  of  words, 
upon  the  manner  of  presentation  to  the  class,  or  the  plan  of 
study  with  the  teacher,  upon  the  pupils'  independent  methods  of 
study,  and  upon  the  method  of  testing  or  conducting  a  recita- 
tion; but  above  all,  it  is  dependent  upon  the  interest  which  is 
aroused. 

Good  teaching  also  involves  the  ability  of  the  pupils  to  recog- 
nize symbols.  Many  pupils  are  poor  spellers  because  they  do 
not  clearly  see  the  forms  of  the  words.  Defective  eye-sight,  may 
be  the  cause  of  this. 

Spelling  is  sometimes  taught  in  a  perfunctory,  mechanical 
way,  with  little  variety  or  life  in  the  instruction.  Often  the 
lesson  is  aimless  and  tediously  monotonous.  Such  teaching  is 
partly  responsible  for  poor  spelling.  To  arouse  interest  in  spell- 
ing, to  create  a  desire  to  excel,  to  relieve  it  of  monotony,  to 
make  the  instruction  a  real  teaching  process,  and  to  bring  variety 
into  the  exercises,  should  be  the  aim  of  the  teacher. 

This  pamphlet  is  not  a  course  of  study,  neither  is  it  a  plan 
for  a  teacher  to  follow  closely  in  her  daily  work.  It  is  a 
statement  of  general  method  in  the  field  of  spelling  for  the 
elementary  grades. 


292944 


Spelling  is  treated  as  one  of  the  factors  in  word  study.  The 
way  or  method  of  teaching  spelling  is  considered  of  greater 
importance  than  the  number  of  words  spelled,  for  good  meth- 
ods of  teaching  will  assist  the  learner  in  the  formation  of  good 
habits  of  thinking,  with  the  result  that  what  is  learned  will  be 
the  more  intelligently  and  permanently  possessed. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  monograph,  grateful  acknowledg- 
ment is  made  to  Drs.  Suzzallo  and  Pearson,  of  Teachers  College, 
Columbia  University,  for  permission  to  use  the  extracts  from 
the  Teachers  College  Record;  to  David  B.  Corson,  Assistant  Su- 
perintendent of  Schools,  Newark;  to  Miss  Rachel  Van  Syckel, 
•<j}so  of  the  Newark  Schools,  and  to  Miss  Myra  Billings,  Super- 
visor of  Kindergarten  and  Primary  Schools,  Atlantic  City,  for  the 
articles  which  appear  over  their  respective  signatures.  Valuable 
suggestions  have  also  been  made  by  members  of  the  faculties 
of  the  two  Normal  Schools,  and  by  various  city  and  county  su- 
perintendents. 

CALVIN  N.  KENDALL, 

Commissioner  of  Education. 


The  Teaching  of  Spelling. 


The  following  concerning  two  types  of  spelling  lessons  is 
from  Dr.  Henry  Suzzallo's  report  in  the  Teachers  College  Rec- 
ord for  November,  191 1 : 

Testing  Type  of  "A  quarter  of  a  century  ago  the  spelling 

Spelling  Lessons.  period  was  given  over  to  the  mere  hearing  of 
spelling  lessons.  The  teacher  heard  the  children  spell  the  words 
that  had  been  assigned  for  mastery,  and  made  the  corrections 
as  the  errors  occurred.  More  often  the  children  wrote  the 
words  in  lists  as  the  teacher  pronounced  them.  An  oral  spelling 
by  the  teachers  afforded  the  basis  for  marking  misspelled  words. 
A  new  list  of  words  was  then  assigned  for  the  next  day's  lesson 
without  much  anticipation  or  preparation  for  special  difficulties. 
Correction  on  the  part  of  the  erring  child  consisted  in  writing 
the  misspelled  words  a  specified  number  of  times  under  scant 
supervision  after  school  or  during  a  study  period.  The  so-called 
class  lesson  in  spelling  was  really  a  daily  examination  in  spell- 
ing. Under  such  a  system  the  learning  of  spelling  was  a  matter 
for  home  assignment  and  individual  study.  The  class  exercise 
was  purely  for  the  purpose  of  testing  the  child's  knowledge." 

Instruction  Type  of  "Today,  the  use  of  the  class  exercises  in 
Spelling  Lessons.  spelling  is  vastly  different  in  most  places. 
The  teacher  spends  his  time  carefully  presenting  a  few  words, 
rather  than  in  examining  on  the  child's  ability  in  many.  New 
work  is  a  matter  of  class  study,  where  words  are  presented  with 
unusual  artfulness  in  order  to  suggest  their  meaning  naturally 
through  circumstances  or  context.  Every  effort  is  made  to  safe-: 
guard  the  child  against  a  wrong  first  impression  and  an  incor- 
rect learning  of  the  word.  If  a  home  lesson  is  assigned  it  is 
not  a  mere  mapping  out  of  the  number  of  words  to  be  learned; 
the  assignment  is  an  exercise  in  which  the  teacher  uses  all  his 
foresight  in  anticipating  the  various  kinds  of  troubles  the  child 
will  meet,  focusing  the  attention  on  special  difficulties  and  sug- 


gesting  modes  of  self-instruction.  The  modern  spelling  exer- 
cise may  test  the  child's  knowledge,  but  its  primary  function  is 
to  instruct  rather  than  to  examine." 

Of  these  two  types  of  spelling  lessons  so  clearly  described  by 
Dr.  Suzzallo,  the  second  only,  has  a  place  in  the  school  of  today, 
whether  it  be  the  "ungraded  school"  of  the  rural  district  or  the 
highly  differentiated  school  of  the  city. 

Spelling   is   one   of   the   four   elements   of 
word  study.     A  word  is  not  known  until  its 
pronunciation,  meaning,  use  and  spelling  are  known. 

Teaching  is  necessary  in  each  of  these  fields.  Children  do  not 
know  instinctively  how  to  study  in  any  field.  They  need  the 
teacher  not  only  to  assign  them  definite  lessons,  and  to  test 
the  results  of  their  study,  but  much  more  to  teach  them  how 
to  study  and  to  supplement  their  limited  knowledge  by  her  own 
fuller  knowledge. 

Correct  pronunciation  is  the   first   step   in 
Pronunciation.  .,  ..     A  ,       ,  „.  T 

the  process  that  leads  to  correct  spelling.  In- 
asmuch, however,  as  the  pronunciation  is  only  suggestive  of  cor- 
rect spelling,  and  often  is  not  even  suggestive  (as  in  the  words 
"thorough,"  "freight,"  etc.,)  the  word  should  be  seen,  as  well 
as  heard  and  pronounced.  It  is  unquestionably  the  best  plan 
for  the  teacher  to  write  the  words  on  the  board  singly  and  in 
the  presence  of  the  class,  even  if  they  are  already  in  the  spelling 
book. 

While  making  proper  use  of  the  pupils'  knowledge  of  phonics, 
and  while  developing  their  proper  courage  and  initiative  in  at- 
tacking words,  teachers  should  not  hesitate  to  assist  by  giving 
the  correct  pronunciation  when  pupils  cannot  easily  discover  it. 
Children  have  learned  language  from  the  beginning,  largely  by 
imitation,  and  teachers  should  make  use  in  the  spelling  lesson  of 
this  most  important  means  of  instruction.  In  the  case  of  words 
pronounced  differently  by  different  authorities,  any  pronuncia- 
tion which  has  the  sanction  of  one  of  these  authorities  should 
be  accepted  by  the  teacher. 

Emphasize  in  oral  spelling  the  form  of  a 
Syllabication.  ,  .  ,,  «  .     ,.  ,    ,    Tj   ,    .  ^    . 

word  by  syllabication,     (a)  It  helps  in  fixing 

the  word  in  the  mind;  (b)  it  is  a  great  aid  in  "making  out"  new 
words  in  reading;   (c)   it  assists  in  properly  dividing  the  word 


at  the  end  of  a  line;  (d)  it  promotes  clear  enunciation;  (e)  it 
may  assist  in  revealing  the  meaning  of  a  word. 

Words  should  not  be  divided  into  syllables  in  written  spelling, 
except  as  a  special  exercise.  It  is  doubtless  best  to  indicate  the 
syllables  of  words  in  some  way  that  does  not  destroy  the  word 
fcrm,  i.  e.,  as|so|ci  ajtion  or  association.  An  extreme  separa- 
tion of  a  word  into  syllables  while  it  is  being  studied  often 
gives  an  appearance  to  the  word  quite  different  from  what  it 
has  in  connected  composition.  This  may  lend  an  added  diffi- 
culty in  using  and  recognizing  the  word. 

Children  will  gradually  learn  that  there  are  significant  prefix 
and  suffix  syllables  and  a  few  root  syllables  that  may  be  recog- 
nized, but  apart  from  the  fact  that  a  syllable  must  contain  a 
vowel,  there  is  no  need  of  insisting  on  absolute  uniformity  in 
syllabication — dictionaries  themselves  are  not  uniform. 


The  phonogram  is  a  different  sound  *:nit 
from  the  syllable  In  the  words,  face,  pace, 
lace,  etc.,  "ace"  is  a  phonogram.  When  two  words  are  brought 
together  as  one,  i.  e.,  playfully,  membership,  etc.,  each  word  may 
be  thought  of  as  a  sound  unit  or  phonogram.  There  is  a  large 
class  of  words  whose  pronunciation  and  spelling  are  more  easily 
and  more  permanently  learned  by  the  phonogram  division  than 
by  the  syllabic  or  individual  letter  division. 


An  essential  part  of  correct  pronunciation 
is  accent.  Special  drills,  class  and  individual, 
should  be  given  where  needed  in  all  grades,  to  the  end  that  each 
pupil  may  be  able  to  put  stress  on  whatever  syllable  is  to  be  ac- 
cented. Some  long  words  have  two  accents,  one  of  which  is 
heavier  than  the  other. 


It  is  not  advisable  to  spend  a  large  part  of 
Diacritical  Marks.  „.        .  .  ,      ,  ,  .  -  ~V      , 

a  spelling  lesson  with  the  marking  of  the  let- 
ters of  the  words  studied,  but  it  is  desirable  to  have  pupils  in  all 
grades  familiar  with  the  half-dozen  diacritical  marks  that  in- 
dicate the  most  common  vowel  and  consonant  sounds,  i.  e.,  the 
long  and  short  sounds  of  the  vowels,  the  hard  and  soft  sounds 
of  c  and  g. 


8 

The  Meaning  of  ^  word  may  have  several  meanings.     Its 

Words.  use  determines  the  meaning.     Pronunciation, 

use  and  meaning  are  three  closely  related  elements  of  word 
study,  and  it  is  hardly  possible  to  separate  them  in  the  teaching 
process. 

The  meaning  may  be  developed  by  the  use 

Synonyms.  -  r^,  •  « 

of  synonyms.     This  is  a  very  common  and 

economical  method,  but  should  always  be  supplemented  by  the 
use  of  illustrative  sentences  or  by  the  study  of  a  text  selection 
in  which  the  word  is  used.  Such  a  study  should  precede  the 
study  of  the  word  for  its  spelling. 

The  dictation  of  a  selection  in  which  spell- 
Dictation. 

mg    words    are    used    is    properly    a    test 

of  the  pupils'  command  of  the  word  and  naturally  follows  the 
study  of  the  words  for  their  spelling,  unless  the  exercise  is  used 
to  disclose  to  the  pupils  the  words  that  they  cannot  spell.  In 
this  case  the  exercise  should  of  course  precede  the  study.  The 
selection  should  not  be  too  long,  af*d  its  meaning  should  be  un- 
derstood before  it  is  dictated. 

Children  should  not  be  asked  to  learn  the 

Use  in  Sentences.  ,,.  ,.  ,      ,.  .  -       ,  •  ,     . 

spelling  of  words  the  meaning  of  which  is 

not  clear  to  them.  This  can  only  be  tested  by  asking  the  child- 
ren to  use  the  word  in  sentences  that  will  clearly  exhibit  its 
meaning.  These  sentences  should  be  short  and  interesting,  and 
the  thought  expressed  worth  while.  Geography,  history,  litera- 
ture, current  events,  useful  information,  will  furnish  material. 
For  instance:  Columbus  made  a  triumphal  entrance  into  Bar- 
celona. A  hint  to  the  wise  is  sufficient.  Snowbirds  lack  suffi- 
cient food  for  winter.  Russian  peasants  earn  barely  enough  for 
their  subsistence.  The  glacial  ice  that  once  covered  North 
America  is  not  now  in  existence.  The  interiors  of  English  cathe- 
drals are  beautiful. 

Time  may  be  wasted,  however,  in  asking  children  to  put  com- 
mon words  in  sentences  when  the  meaning  of  such  words  is  well 
known.  The  words,  plate,  apple  and  doctor  are  sufficiently  well 
known  to  children  without  taking  valuable  time  to  compose  sen- 
tences containing  them. 


Teaching  of  The  psychology  and  the  pedagogy  of  spell- 

Spelling,  ing  have  been   given   considerable   attention 

during  recent  years.  The  results  of  these  studies,  although  they 
may  be  largely  suggestive,  should  be  known  to  the  teacher  and 
she  should  be  guided  by  them. 

It  has  been  found  that  all  people  do  not  learn  equally  well  in 
the  same  way.  In  the  field  of  spelling,  in  which  the  mind  fixes 
for  itself  the  word  form,  i.  e.,  the  proper  letter  sequences,  child- 
ren are 

1.  Sense  organ  learners  (a)  eye  learners 

(b)  ear  learners 

2.  Muscle  learners  (c)  vocal  organ  learners 

(d)  hand  learners. 

It  is  doubtless  true  that  each  normal  person  belongs  to  all  four 
classes,  but  it  also  appears  to  be  true  that  each  one  belongs  more 
decidedly  to  one  class  than  to  another. 

Tests  seem  to  show  that  a  combination  of  seeing  words  and 
of  hearing  words,  of  spelling  them  aloud  and  of  writing  them, 
produces  the  best  results  in  spelling. 

Before  spelling,  a  succession  of  letters  in  a  list  of  meaningless 
words  as  "gemalask,"  "hetlimgil,"  etc.,  was  read  to  a  class 
(auditory),  then  the  list  was  written  plainly  on  cardboard  and 
shown  to  the  class  (visual),  and  finally  the  children  both  saw 
and  pronounced  the  words  (combination  of  auditory,  motor  and 
visual).  In  the  last  named  exercise  the  pupils  gained  the  high- 
est per  cent  in  correct  spelling.  The  three  percentages  were 
forty-five,  sixty-six  and  seventy-four,  respectively.  It  appears 
that  the  more  sense  organs  brought  into  use  the  more  lasting 
will  be  the  impression. 

In  another  school  some  twenty  nonsense  words  were  shown 
to  children  and  the  request  made  that  the  lips  be  kept  closed  or 
fixed  while  looking  at  the  combinations.  Most  of  the  children, 
however,  soon  lapsed  into  the  use  of  their  lips.  At  another 
time,  while  keeping  the  lips  closed,  it  was  noticed  that  the  fin- 
gers and  hands  were  unconsciously  moved  as  if  to  tell  off  the 
letters  silently.  So  strong  does  this  tendency  appear  to  be  that 
the  motor  accompaniment  seems  of  use  in  learning  to  spell.  The 
motor  apparatus  used  in  speech  should  be  used  to  a  large  extent 
in  teaching  spelling. 


10 

Dr.  J.  W.  Baird  of  Clark  University  states  in  his  study  of  The 
Psychology  of  Spelling — "It  has  been  found  that  the  more  sense- 
departments  the  teacher  appeals  to  in  his  presentations,  and  the 
more  sorts  of  imagery  the  pupil  employs  in  his  learning,  the 
more  effective  is  the  memorization.  In  a  series  of  experiments 
with  upwards  of  seven  hundred  children,  between  the  ages  of 
six  and  twelve  years,  various  modes  of  presenting  words  re- 
sulted in  the  following  relative  numbers  of  erroneous  reproduc- 
tions (misspelled  words)  : 

Mode  of  Presentation  Per  Ct.  of  Error 

Words  heard     6.48 

Words  heard  and  spelled  aloud  by  pupil 4.66 

Words  seen     2.60 

Words  seen  and  spelled  aloud  by  pupil 2.27 

Words  seen,  spelled  aloud,  and  written  by  pupil. ...      1.00 
The  study  of  psychology  has  revealed  two  other  facts  most 
significant   for  the  teacher  of   spelling,   namely,   first,   that  the 
mind  does  not  interest  itself  in  and  does  not  retain  easily  un- 
related impressions ;  second,  that  the  mind  retains  most  easily 
and  permanently  those  impressions  in  which  it  is  most  interested. 
If  therefore  the  teacher  has  in  mind  the  fixing  in  the  mind 
of  her  pupil  the  correct  spelling  of  a  list  of  words,  she  will 
study  to 

(a)  arouse  an  interest  in  each  word, 

(b)  relate  each  word  to  pronunciation,  meaning  and  ex- 

perience, 

(c)  devise  methods  of  study  and  drill  that  call  into  play 

the  eye,  the  ear,    the    vocal    organs    and    the    hand 
muscles. 

Interest    in    the    spelling   lessons    may    be 

Interest.  aroused  and  maintained  in  an  almost  number- 

less variety  of  ways.  A  person  is  always  most  interested  in  car- 
rying out  plans  which  he  has  helped  to  make.  It  will  be  found 
that  children,  if  given  the  opportunity,  will  make  valuable  sug- 
gestions by  which  this  school  study  may  become  more  vital. 

The  class  may  help  to  determine  the  words  that  need  most  at- 
tention. 

The  class  may  help  determine  the  kind  of  special  attention 
each  word  needs — spelling,  meaning,  syllable  analysis,  phono- 
gram analysis. 


11 

The  class  may  have  charge  through  appointed  agents  of  the 
making  of  special  lists,  and  of  drilling  devices  and  exercises. 
Those  lists  may  be  built  up  around  the  pupils'  interests,  home 
lists,  kitchen,  dining-room,  barn,  field,  ball-field,  etc.,  etc.,  sign 
boards,  bill  boards,  etc.  There  is  danger  that  unusual  words 
may  be  included  in  these  special  lists.  This  danger  should  be 
watched  for  and  avoided. 

The  class  may  write  a  paragraph  in  which  a  number  of  words 
is  to  be  used.  The  paragraph  best  in  thought,  expression  and 
punctuation,  may  be  used  as  a  dictation  exercise.  (The  para- 
graph to  be  used  may  be  selected  by  a  small  committee  of  the 
class.  One  member  of  this  committee  may  be  one  of  the  poorer 
spellers). 

Attention  has  already  been  called  to  the  fact  that  the  spelling 
of  a  word  whose  pronunciation,  meaning  and  use  are  not  un- 
derstood has  little  value,  and  that  the  spelling  is  not  likely  to 
be  retained  in  the  mind. 

Selection  of  Words   should   be   selected   from   the   vo- 

Material.  cabulary  of  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life  rather 

than  from  the  school-room  vocabulary.  It  is  not  necessary  that 
a  pupil  should  know  how  to  spell  a  word  which  he  may  seldom 
have  occasion  to  use  in  writing.  It  is  sufficient  that  he  should 
recognize  it  readily  in  reading.  The  spelling  of  unimportant 
geographical  names,  many  names  in  fiction,  in  history  and  in 
mythology,  should  be  omitted.  When  it  is  necessary  to  use 
these  words  in  written  or  in  regular  composition  work  they  may 
be  written  on  the  board  or  looked  up  in  the  dictionary. 

Teach  only  the  common  words.  Few  people  have  occasion  to 
spell  except  when  they  write.  The  words  believe,  receive,  pic- 
tures, knives,  cousin,  lead-pencil,  libraries,  villain,  village,  ab- 
sence, nuisance,  portion,  calendar,  diptheria,  hydrant,  column, 
color,  cities,  planning,  collar,  ought,  aunt,  echo,  neighbor, — are 
common  words.  Such  words  as  celestial,  abhorrence,  syllogism, 
decalogue,  convalescence,  apportion  and  hypocrisy — are  not  com- 
mon words. 

The  teacher  will  usually  find  her  material  in  (a)  the  words 
misspelled  by  the  pupils  in  their  written  work;  (b)  the  spelling 
book. 


12 

The  teacher  and  pupils  may  at  times  with  profit  be  conscious- 
ly increasing  their  vocabulary  by  the  use  in  speech  and  writing 
of  common  words  which  have  been  selected  for  study. 

Makers  of  spelling  books  have  of  late  years 
Spelling  Books.  ,  ......  . J 

been  more  discriminating  in  the  selection  of 

words,  but  it  should  not  be  forgotton  that  spelling  books  are 
made  for  general  use,  while  the  profitable  spelling  lesson  is  for 
particular  children.  One  school  may  profitably  study  the  entire 
grade  assignment  of  words  in  a  spelling  book,  although  such 
a  school  would  be  rare,  while  another  school  in  the  same  town 
might  not  be  able  to  study  profitably  more  than  half  such  as- 
signment. 

A  spelling  book  should  be  used  with  judgment,  and  it  should 
not  take  the  place  of  the  individual  and  class  lists  drawn  from 
the  oral  and  written  vocabulary  of  the  children. 

Reliable  authorities  state  that  the  common  vocabulary  of 
well  educated  persons  does  not  extend  beyond  four  thousand 
words.  It  is  this  vocabulary  of  everyday  use  that  it  is  important 
to  master. 

There  should  be  three  distinct  features  in 
Methods  of  Study.  ir 

spelling  exercises: 

(a)  The  period  of  assignment  or  study  with  the  teacher. 

(b)  The  period  of  independent  study,  which  may  be  done 

at  home. 
These  periods,  while  distinct,  may  at  times  be  combined. 

(c)  The  period  of  testing. 

Assignment  or  In  assigning  lists  of  words  to  be  studied, 

Study  with  the  1t  ..  ,«        «.rr      1A 

Teacher.  ca^  attention  to  the  difficult  words  and  more 

particularly  to  difficult  points  in  certain  words.  The  teacher 
should  use  the  blackboard  in  this  lesson  assignment.  She 
could  also  use  with  profit  colored  crayon  to  emphasize  the  a 
in  separate,  the  a  in  Delaware,  the  or  in  forty,  etc.  Each  child 
needs  his  attention  called  in  a  special  manner  to  the  words  he 
cannot  spell.  There  is  an  enormous  waste  going  on  because  the 
children  study  mechanically  and  monotonously  the  words  they 
already  know.  Imagine  an  adult  doing  this !  Have  the  pupils 
decide  which  word  demands  the  greatest  effort  in  its  mastery; 
which  point  in  the  word  is  difficult,  etc.  "What  is  hard  about 
this  word?"  Here  is  a  chance  for  the  ingenuity  of  the  teacher. 


13 

For  example,  take  the  word  describe;  the  special  difficulty  is 
the  vowel  of  the  first  syllable.  The  pupils  should  discover  this 
if  possible.  If  the  pupils  do  not  easily  discover  the  difficulty 
the  teacher  may  write  the  word  on  the  board.  After  writing 
the  first  letter  she  says,  "Notice  that  the  next  letter  is  e." 
The  teacher  and  pupils  then  complete  the  word.  Pupils  may 
"think"  of  the  form  of  the  first  syllable,  all  remaining  silent 
and  not  looking  at  the  board.  The  teacher  might  hold  up 
one  hand  with  outstretched  fingers  and  pupils  follow  her  signs 
by  oral  spelling.  Interest  the  pupil  in  the  facts  of  the  word. 
Attention  follows  interest  and  knowledge  follows  attention. 

Quick  visualizing  of  words  is  a  valuable  aid  in  the  study  of 
spelling.  Care  should  be  taken  to  find  out  whether  or  not  the 
pupil's  eyesight  is  good.  After  a  word  is  written  on  the  board 
and  erased,  the  teacher  may  ask  for  the  third  letter,  next  to  the 
last  letter,  the  second  syllable,  etc.  No  pupil  can  answer  unless 
he  has  formed  a  distinct  mental  image  of  the  arrangement  of  the 
letters  in  the  word.  The  teacher  may  ask  a  pupil  to  turn  to  page 
seventy-eight  of  his  reader  (or  geography)  and  look  at  the  last 
word  on  the  page,  or  the  last  three  words,  and  then  spell  or 
write. 

Two  plans  are  here  given  which  were  fol- 
ns<   lowed  at  Teachers  College,  Columbia  Univer- 
sity,  and   reported   by   Principal   Henry   Carr   Pearson   in   the 
Teachers  College  Record,  January,  1912. 
Plan  I— Class  Study. 

Time  limit — twenty  minutes. 

1.  Write  one  of  the  words  on  the  blackboard  and  teach  it 
in  accordance  with  the  following  plan.  Then  write  the 
next  word,  teaching  it  in  the  same  way,  and  so  on,  with 
the  rest  of  the  words. 

(a)  While  writing  the  word,  pronounce  it  distinctly. 

(b)  Develop  the  meaning  orally,   either  by  calling  for  a 
sentence  using  the  word  or  by  giving  its  definition. 

(c)  Indicate  the  syllables.     Call  on  pupils  to  spell  orally, 
by  syllables.    Have  them  indicate  what  part  of  the  word 
presents    difficulties,    or    whether    the    word    contains 
parts  they  already  know. 


14 

(d)  Have  pupils  write  the  word,  pronouncing  it  softly  as 
they  write.     It  would  be  well  to  have  a  new  sentence 
given,  using  the  word,  before  they  do  this.     This  is  to 
emphasize  strongly  the  meaning  of  the  word  again  just 
before  the  child  writes  it. 

(e)  Allow  the  class  a  moment  in  which  to   look  at  the 
word  again  and  then  have  them  close    eyes    and    try 
to  visualize  it,  or  use  any  other  device  of  a  similar  na- 
ture.   Have  considerable  repetition,  both  oral  and  writ- 
ten. 

2.  After  the  various  words  of  the  day's  lesson  have  been 
studied  in  this  way,  allow  a  few  moments  for  studying  again 
the  whole  list,  suggesting  that  each  pupil  emphasize  the  words 
he  thinks  he  doesn't  know.  This  time  should  be  limited  so  that 
every  pupil  will  attend  vigorously  and  intensively.     Call  upon 
pupils  individually  and  in  concert  to  spell  the  whole  list  without 
looking  at  the  board.     Refer  them  to  the  board  again  if  they 
hesitate. 

3.  Then  erase  all  words   from  blackboard  and  dictate  the 
words  to  the  class,  using  each  word  in  a  sentence  first. 

Plan  II.— Class  Study. 

Time  limit — fifteen  minutes,  including  the  dictation. 

1.  The  first  word  was  written  on  the  board  in  the  presence 
of  the  class,  and  then  studied  as  follows: 

(a)  Its  meaning  was  given,  and  used  in  a  sentence. 

(b)  It  was  spelled  aloud  in  concert,  and  individually  by  the 
poor  spellers. 

(c)  Its  peculiarities,  such  as  silent  letter,  01  and  ie  combin- 
ations, etc.,  were  pointed  out. 

(d)  The  word  was  written  once,  twice  or  three  times  by 
the  pupils  who  spelled  silently  as  they  wrote. 

2.  Each  word  in  turn  was  written  on  the  board  and  studied 
in  the  same  way. 

3.  Next  the  whole  colymn  was  reviewed  orally,  the  children 
first  spelling  each  word  from  the  board  and  then  turning  from 
the  board,  spelling  again  (either  silently  or  aloud)  and  verify- 
ing results  by  consulting  the  board. 

4.  The  words  were  then  erased  from  the  board,  papers  out 
of  sight,  and  the  work  dictated. 


15 

Independent  Study  The  teacher  ought  to  train  pupils  to  dis- 
by  Pupils.  criminate  between  the  easy  and  the  difficult 

words,  and  to  concentrate  effort  on  the  latter.  The  pupil  should 
put  the  "emphasis  of  his  mind"  upon  the  weak  points  which  he 
has  been  taught  to  discover.  Suppose  the  names  of  the  days 
of  the  week  are  the  lesson.  The  pupils  should  be  taught  to  se- 
lect Tuesday,  Wednesday,  Thursday  and  Saturday  as  the 
difficult  words,  and  they  should  recognize  that  Wednesday 
probably  needs  more  attention  than  the  other  six  words  to- 
gether. Pupils  should,  therefore,  be  taught  how  to  study  the 
lessons.  This  study  should  imitate  both  the  method  and  the 
spirit  of  the  preceding  study  with  the  teacher.  The  endeavor 
should  be  to  give  the  child  the  power  to  do  by  himself  what 
he  does  when  the  teacher  studies  with  him.  The  children 
may  test  each  other  at  the  close  of  a  study  period.  It  is  a 
mistake  to  ask  pupils  to  write  the  lessons  a  number  of  times, 
simply  copying  the  words.  One  method  is  to  teach  them 
after  they  have  carefully  looked  over  the  words  and  sen- 
tences in  the  book  or  on  the  board,  to  write  as  many  of  them 
as  they  can  from  memory.  They  can  then  compare  what 
they  have  written  with  the  book  or  blackboard  list  in  order 
to  find  which  words  they  have  failed  to  spell  correctly.  Pu- 
pils should  not,  however,  be  taught  to  commit  lists  of  unre- 
lated words  to  memory. 

Spelling  is  one  of  the  subjects  in  which 

the  parent  can  render  efficient  aid.  The 
children  who  take  home  lists  of  words  to  spell  can  first  be 
tested  by  the  paient,  both  orally  and  in  writing,  to  see  how 
many  they  know,  the  others  being  noted  for  further  study. 
After  the  latter  have  been  thoroughly  studied  the  test  can  be 
given  again  until  all  are  recited  correctly.  Word  games,  ana- 
grams, etc.,  may  be  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  pupils 
by  having  them"  tried  in  the  schoolroom.  Many  children  will 
secure  the  necessary  material  and  plaj"  the  games  at  home, 
while  all  poor  spellers  should  be  urged  to  do  so.  The  words 
assigned  for  home  study  should  be  first  studied  with  the 
teacher  in  school. 

Tests  in  spelling  should  be  tests  in  word 

study,  in  the  method  of  learning  and  the 
mental  habits  formed.  A  teacher's  work  should  be  judged 


16 

even  more  by  the  spirit  and  quality  of  her  spelling  lessons 
than  by  the  success  or  failure  of  her  pupils  in  a  chance  test 
on  a  list  of  miscellaneous  words — unless  those  words  are  se- 
lected from  the  lists  on  which  the  class  has  been  working. 

Generally  the  testing  should  be  a  written  test,  and  in  the 
higher  grades  it  should  be  on  the  day  following  the  as- 
signment or  study.  By  this  delay,  time  is  allowed  for  the 
fixing  of  the  words  in  mind  and  the  exercise  becomes  a  re- 
view as  well  as  a  test.  In  the  higher  grades  the  children 
should  usually  exchange  papers  and  mark  the  spelling  on 
their  neighbor's  paper.  While  this  saves  the  teacher  much 
labor,  it  serves  a  far  more  valuable  purpose  in  cultivating  in 
each  child  the  habit  of  looking  critically  at  words. 

The  marking  of  papers  by  pupils  needs  careful  supervision. 
The  teacher  herself  may  profitably  mark  a  few  papers  every 
day  and  should  examine  the  work  of  each  pupil  often  enough 
to  be  familiar  with  his  strength  and  weakness. 

Occasionally  oral  tests  or  recitations  should  be  introduced, 
for  the  sake  of  variety. 

A  large  part  of  poor  spelling  comes  from 
carelessness.  If  all  teachers  insist  that  every 
paper  or  note-book  be  correct  as  regards  spelling,  much  of  this 
carelessness  would  be  avoided  and  the  pupil  trained  in  habits 
of  carefulness  and  accuracy.  Let  us  create,  if  possible,  the 
spelling  conscience. 

Number  of  Words  For    such    study    as    is    here    outlined 

in  a  Lesson.  doubtless  not  more  than  four  or  five  words 

could  be  considered  at  one  time  in  the  primary  grades,  one  or 
two  words  more  than  this  in  the  intermediate  grades,  and  in 
the  grammar  grades  not  more  than  ten.  If  such  a  lesson  were 
given  but  three  times  per  week,  in  the  course  of  six  years  the 
working  vocabulary  of  a  well-educated  adult  would  be  studied 
and  ample  time  would  be  left  for  reviews. 

There  should  be  frequent  reviews.     Repe- 
Reviews.  ....  j     j  -n          1 

tition  and  drill  and  practice  are  necessary. 

Few  spelling  books  provide  enough  review  lessons  of  difficult 
common  zvords.  The  wise  teacher  will  keep  a  list  of  words 
which  the  children  have  misspelled,  both  in  written  work  and  in 
the  ordinary  spelling  lessons.  The  words  which  are  very  com- 


17 

monly  misspelled  should  be  kept  before  the  schools  in  all  grades 
constantly  and  these  should  receive  special  drill.  Examples  of 
these  words  are:  to,  too;  there,  their;  hear,  here;  any,  which, 
many,  such,  much,  those,  does,  until. 

Differing  In  tne  case  °*  WOI*ds  which  are  spelled 

Authorities.  differently  by  different  writers,  any  spelling 

which  has  the  sanction  of  authority  should  be  accepted  by  the 
teacher  as  correct.  But  it  is  desirable  that  the  pupil  should 
adopt  one  form  of  spelling  for  such  words  and  use  it  exclus- 
ively. 

The  dictionary  is  the  universal  "tool"  for  the  study  of  words, 
and  before  pupils  leave  the  grammar  grades  they  should  have 
some  skill  in  its  use  as  an  authority  in  spelling,  and  also  for 
definition,  derivation,  syllabication,  accent  and  diacritical  mark- 
ing. Care  should  be  taken  not  to  ask  the  pupil  to  consult  the 
dictionary  for  a  word  not  known  to  be  there  explained  in  a 
manner  intelligible  to  the  child. 

This  use  may  begin  as  early  as  the  fourth  grade,  and  probably 
ought  not  to  be  delayed  beyond  the  fifth  grade.  Again,  it  can- 
not be  over-emphasized  that  the  proper  use  of  the  dictionary 
must  be  taught.  Not  until  pupils  have  been  using  the  dictionary 
for  two  or  three  years  under  the  guidance  of  the  teacher  should 
much  be  expected  in  the  way  of  absolutely  independent  use. 

In  view  of  the  fact  mentioned  before,  that  the  ordinary  vocab- 
ulary of  a  well-educated  person  consists  of  probably  not  more 
than  4,000  words,  it  would  appear  that  a  dictionary  containing 
between  20,000  and  25,000  well-selected  words  would  be  suffi- 
cient for  the  general  use  of  a  pupil  in  the  elementary  grades.  A 
dictionary  containing  30,000  to  40,000  words  should  meet  the 
needs  of  elementary  school  children  for  general  consultation 
purposes.  Two  or  three  such  dictionaries  in  each  upper  grade 
room  would  do.i*  t'ess  be  much  more  useful  than  one  unabridged 
dictionary,  but  an  unabridged  dictionary  in  a  building  for  occa- 
sional reference  is  desirable. 

Rules   for  spelling  English  words  are  of 
Rules  for  Spelling.      ,.,,,      ,.  ,          ^T  .       f  i_        r       1 

little  direct  value.    Yet  a  few  may  be  of  value 

in  that  they  call  the  attention  of  pupils  to  the  very  parts  of  words 
which  they  would  be  likely  to  misspell.  The  pupils  should  be 
led  to  formulate  these  rules  inductively  by  having  them  observe 


18 

the  pronunciation  or  spelling  of  a  number  of  words  entirely 
familiar  to  them.  Before  the  rules  are  taught,  the  difference 
between  vowels  and  consonants  should  be  made  clear  to  the 
pupils,  and  they  should  be  required  to  memorize  the  vowels.  As 
much  drill  as  possible  should  be  given  in  spelling  words  illustrat- 
ing the  rule  before  any  exceptions  are  given.  In  giving  excep- 
tions to  a  rule,  only  such  words  should  be  given  as  pupils  will 
have  occasion  to  use  in  practical  life;  and  of  those  only  such  as 
they  would  be  likely  to  misspell  because  of  the  rule. 

1.  Final  y,  when  preceded  by  a  consonant, 
Suggested  Rules         .  ..Jt  / 

to  be  Taught  is  generally  changed  to  le  when  a  letter  or 

Inductively.  syllable  is  added.     Ex.     Lady,  ladies;  berry, 

berries;  fly,  flies;  dry,  dries;  bury,  buries;  mercy,  mercies; 
hurry,  hurries.  Final  y  is  retained  before  a  syllable  beginning 
with  if  to  prevent  the  doubling  of  the  i.  Ex.  Dying,  trying, 
flying. 

2.  Final  y,  preceded  by  a  vowel,  generally  remains  unchanged 
when  a  letter  or  syllable  is  added.     Ex. :  Day,  days ;  lay,  lays ; 
key,  keys;  chimney,  chimneys;  valley,  valleys;  essay,  essays. 

3.  Words  of  one  syllable,  ending  in  a  consonant  preceded  by 
a  single  vowel,  double  the  consonant  before  a  suffix  beginning 
with  a  vowel.     Ex. :    Big,  bigger ;  wit,  witty ;  rob,  robber ;  clan, 
clannish. 

4.  Words  of  more  than  one  syllable,  accented  on  the  last,  and 
ending  in  a  single  consonant  preceded  by  a  single  vowel,  double 
the   final  consonant  when  a  syllable   is  added.     Ex. :    Permit, 
permitting;  begin,  beginning;  infer,  inferring,  defer,  deferring. 

The  special  teaching  of  these  rules  may  best  be  distributed 
throughout  the  grades. 


Spelling  in  Grammar  Grades. 


The  method  of  procedure  in  teaching  spelling  in  the  lower 
grammar  grades  should  differ  from  that  of  the  upper  grammar 
grades.  The  aim,  of  course,  is  the  same  in  both — the  acquisition 
of  skill  in  recalling  the  correct  sequence  of  letters  in  words. 
The  ability  of  normal  pupils  as  they  rise  in  the  grades  is  better 
developed,  and  this  fact  makes  the  suggested  difference  advis- 
able. The  children  who  are  less  able  must  be  helped  more,  so 
that  the  associations  may  be  stronger.  The  habit  of  observa- 
tion should  be  formed  in  the  lower  grades,  and  this  cannot  be 
done  merely  by  assigning  a  spelling  lesson  that  will  later  be 
heard.  The  lesson  should  be  taught,  after  which  it  may  be 
studied.  The  higher  grade  children  may  be  allowed  to  study  by 
themselves  often  without  previous  class  preparation,  for  less 
instruction  is  necessary.  The  demand  for  correct  and  highly 
meritorious  results  is  a  large  factor  in  achieving  success. 

I  have  found  the  following  a  good  method: — Write  in  solid 
form  the  word,  as  "description,"  upon  the  board.  The  advan- 
tage in  this,  instead  of  having  the  children  look  in  the  book, 
is  that  the  teacher  thus  insures  attention  to  the  given  word 
only.  She  requests  the  children  to  look  at  the  word,  thus  pho- 
tographing it,  as  it  were,  upon  the  retina.  The  teacher,  after 
a  short  interval,  pronounces  the  word  correctly,  with  distinct 
enunciation  and  careful  articulation.  She  then  asks  individuals 
to  pronounce,  syllabicate,  and  spell.  A  number  of  children  in 
succession  say :  de-scrip-tion,  d-e-de-s-c-r-i-p-scrip-t-i-o-n-tion, 
description.  All  write  the  word  in  solid  form  on  practice  paper; 
again,  a  few  spell  it  orally  as  before;  all  write  it  again  on  an- 
other part  of  the  paper.  All  spell  it  orally  together  quietly,  with 
correct  syllabication  and  clear  enunciation.  The  teacher  then 
calls  attention  to  the  peculiarities  of  the  word,  as  "tion"  is 
"shun"  and  "c"  follows  "s,"  the  first  syllable  is  "de"  and  not 
"des."  The  meaning  of  the  word  is  then  developed  or  explained, 
and  several  children  use  the  word,  each  in  a  sentence.  All  the 

19 


20 

words  of  the  lesson  are  thus  taught,  the  oral  preparation  re- 
ceiving the  more  emphasis.  After  this  study,  the  words  are 
dictated  either  by  the  teacher  or  by  the  different  pupils,  each 
suggesting  a  word.  The  writing  is  done  on  a  different  piece  of 
paper  from  the  practice  sheet.  Papers  are  exchanged,  exam- 
ined and  results  announced.  The  aim  is  one  hundred  per  cent 
correct.  Commendation  and  appreciation  should  be  given  when 
it  is  achieved.  It  should  be  the  expected  result. 

In  grammar  grades  ten  words  are  enough  for  a  lesson,  and 
the  recitation  should  not  be  longer  than  twenty  minutes.  As 
the  class  becomes  accustomed  to  the  work,  fifteen  minutes  will 
be  found  ample  time,  with  the  exception  of  the  use  of  words  in 
sentences.  This  may  form  a  separate  exercise  at  any  opportune 
time  during  the  day.  At  the  end  of  the  week  all  the  words  are 
studied  by  the  pupils,  without  help,  for  a  review  .  Before  be- 
ginning the  dictation,  or  the  spelling  match,  the  teacher  should 
call  attention  again  by  way  of  reminder  to  particular  difficulties 
in  the  spelling  of  specific  words.  At  the  end  of  two  weeks  the 
more  difficult  words  of  the  first  week  may  be  included  in  the 
week's  review.  Some  words,  such  as  "separate"  and  "business," 
may  be  dictated  every  week  until  the  habit  of  spelling  them 
correctly  is  formed  by  every  member  of  the  class;  other  words 
of  like  kind  may  be  substituted  as  rapidly  as  advisable. 

These  words  should  be  taken  from  the  spelling  book  and  from 
the  supplementary  list  which  every  teacher  should  make  for  her 
own  class.  This  latter  includes  words  from  the  various  sub- 
jects and  the  words  which  the  teacher  discovers  it  is  well  to 
insist  shall  be  spelled  correctly.  The  same  method  may  be  used 
with  the  dictation  of  prose  or  poetical  selections  as  with  a  col- 
umn of  words. 

Some  excellencies  of  this  method  are : 

1.  The  ear,  the  motor  apparatus  which  operates  in  speech,  and 
the  eye  contribute   each   its   share   in  making  the  associations 
which  are  necessary.    This  may  be  called  the  audo-motor-  visual 
preparation,  the  important  parts  of  which  are  the  auditory  and 
the  motor. 

2.  The  children  learn  to  enunciate  and  to  articulate  clearly. 

3.  The  children  are  taught  to  notice  words. 

4.  A  spelling  sense  is  developed.     No  harm,  but  much  good 
in  the  development  of  this  sense,  will  result  from  spelling  some 


21 

words  that  may  not  become  a  part  of  the  speaking  vocabulary 
of  the  child. 

5.  A  spelling  conscience  is  developed.  The  constant  demand 
for  a  high  degree  of  attainment  is  the  largest  factor  in  the  de- 
velopment of  the  spelling  conscience. 

When  a  high  per  cent,  is  not  achieved,  the  method  should  be 
adapted  to  meet  the  condition  in  the  room  wh\v  L  --r-ents  it. 
This  will  be  due  to  the  fact  that  individuals  differ  in  ijyj  ability 
to  remember.  The  class  may  be  composed  largely  of  eye-minded 
children,  or  of  ear-minded  children,  or  of  motor-minded  chil- 
dren. The  emphasis  may  be  changed,  but  the  general  principle 
of  the  method  remains  the  same.  The  adjustment  needed  will 
become  apparent  by  a  study  of  the  results,  and  experiments  to 
discover  which  phase  to  emphasize.  The  teacher  must  remember, 
however,  that  no  method  of  presentation,  however  excellent,  can 
be  a  substitute  for  the  efforts  of  the  pupil  to  learn.  He  must 
exert  himself;  that  is,  use  his  powers  of  observation  and  mem- 
ory. A  good  method  insures  the  right  appeal,  strong  associa- 
tions, and  the  full  use  of  the  student's  powers. 

In  the  higher  grammar  grades  fifteen  to  twenty  words  may 
be  assigned  for  independent  study.  These  words  may  be  found 
in  the  spelling  book  or  taken  from  the  class  list.  In  dwelling 
upon  the  specific  difficulties  and  peculiarities  of  words,  I  have 
always  found  the  rules  for  spelling  very  helpful.  It  is  my 
opinion  that  they  should  be  taught.  "Surprise  tests"  may  be 
given  of  words  selected  from  newspapers  or  from  the  various 
branches  of  study,  no  preparation  having  been  made.  This 
plan  will  give  the  teacher  a  clue  as  to  important  words  to  be 
taught.  A  teacher  who  possesses  the  ability  to  arouse  the  spell- 
ing conscience  and  to  develop  the  spelling  sense  will  ordinarily 
succeeed  in  teaching  all  children  to  spell,  except  the  constitution- 
ally bad  spellers,  and  to  use  the  dictionary.  The  teacher  in  dic- 
tating must  be  particular  about  enunciation  and  articulation,  as 
well  as  pronunciation.  After  the  words  are  written,  papers  are 
exchanged  and  examined  as  the  teacher  spells,  syllabicating  each 
word,  commenting  upon  its  specific  difficulties.  Papers  are  re- 
turned to  the  owners,  and  the  incorrect  words  are  studied.  Lists 
of  misspelled  words  are  kept,  and  these  words  constitute  the 
review  for  Friday.  The  words  each  day  are  discussed,  used  in 
sentences,  incorrect  words  spelled  orally — always  in  syllables. 


22 

Particularly  difficult  words  may  be  taught  and  written  upon  the 
blackboard,  to  remain  there  for  a  time.  Care  should  be  used 
to  make  a  judicious  combination  of  written  and  oral  spelling 
and  of  columns  of  words  and  of  the  dictation  of  selections. 
Some  scheme,  differing  with  different  teachers,  must  be  devised 
to  make  pupils  feel  responsibility  for  correct  spelling.  They 
must  realize  that  incorrect  spelling  will  not  be  allowed.  Such  a 
course,  followed  by  a  determined  teacher,  helps  greatly.  She 
must  know,  too,  that  interest  and  desire  to  excel  on  the  part  of 
pupils  are  pre-requisites  for  the  successful  teaching  of  English 
spelling. 

DAVID  B.  CORSON, 
Assistant  City  Superintendent, 

Newark,  New  Jersey. 


Spelling  in  the  Eighth  Grade 


Many  children  leaving  the  grammar  school  go  to  work.  No 
one  will  thereafter  teach  them  spelling.  They  must  rely  upon 
themselves  and  the  dictionary.  The  others,  who  go  to  high 
school,  must  be  independent  in  their  study.  Hence  the  eighth 
grade  is  the  time  when  the  teaching  of  spelling  should  have  for 
its  aim,  awakening  and  cultivating  a  spelling  conscience.  Up  to 
this  time  spelling  has  been  taught.  Now  the  pupils  should  be 
trained,  each  one  to  know  his  peculiar  errors  and  to  watch  out 
for  them,  to  stop  guessing — bad  spelling  is  merely  bad  guessing 
— to  consult  the  dictionary  for  words  he  does  not  know,  and  to 
observe  the  new  words  he  meets  with  in  reading. 

Much  wrong  spelling  is  due  to  bad  habits,  to  carelessness,  and 
to  a  wrong  concept  of  the  form  of  the  word.  In  the  lower  grades, 
where  much  written  work  is  done,  the  multiplicity  of  papers 
makes  it  impossible  to  prevent  some  bad  spelling  habits. 

In  every  eighth  grade  class  that  has  come  to  me  I  have  found 
some  pupils  writing  "an"  for  "and,"  "the"  for  "they,"  omitting 
"ed"  in  regular  verb  forms,  omitting  the  apostrophe  in  posses- 
sive nouns  and  often  giving  it  to  the  pronoun  "its,"  confusing 
Common  homonyms,  and  confusing  words  that  resemble  each  other 
in  form ;  as,  quite  and  quiet,  respectfully  and  respectively.  Such 
errors  are  not  peculiar  to  one  school,  but  common  to  all  classes 
that  I  have  ever  known.  Few  pupils  are  guilty  of  all,  but  nearly 
all  are  sometimes  guilty  of  one  or  more.  Call  the  child's  atten- 
tion to  his  error,  and  he  will  generally  say,  "I  meant  it  so-and- 
so."  He  will  immediately  correct  it,  telling  why;  and  the  next 
hour  he  will  make  the  same  error.  Somewhere  the  habit  was 
formed,  and  Habit  is  master. 

Words  are  phonograms  as  well  as  ideo-grams.  Careless  enun- 
ciation at  home  and  abroad  gave  the  child  a  wrong  concept  of 
syllables  and  words.  Hence,  "would  have"  is  sometimes  "would 
of,"  and  "modifier"  becomes  "moderfier,"  etc.  Careless  enun- 
ciation and  pronunciation  have  a  baleful  influence  on  the  best 
taught  spelling. 

23 


24 

I  have  found  no  easy  way  to  break  up  bad  spelling  habits.  It 
requires  constant  vigilance  on  the  part  of  the  teacher.  Every 
written  word  and  sentence  must  be  examined  by  the  teacher 
till  a  lively  spelling  conscience  has  been  developed,  and  the  abil- 
ity and  desire  to  find  and  correct  one's  own  errors  have  been 
acquired.  I  have  found  publicity  and  a  tangible  reward  in  the 
form  of  per  cents  helpful  in  awakening  a  lively  spelling  interest. 
On  a  blackboard  in  my  classroom  is  an  alphabetical  list  of  my 
pupils'  names.  Every  written  word  or  sentence  on  blackboard 
or  on  paper  is  a  Spelling  Test;  and  for  every  error,  whether 
due  to  ignorance,  to  carelessness,  or  bad  spelling  habits,  a  mark 
is  placed  after  the  pupil's  name,  each  mark  taking  one  from  the 
desired  one  hundred  per  cent.  The  first  month  the  lines  are  long, 
and  the  number  of  pupils  attaining  above  ninety  per  cent  per- 
fect is  small.  But  children  take  pride  in  a  clean  score  and  de- 
light in  seeing  their  names  listed  with  those  attaining  ninety  per 
cent,  so  as  the  marks  decrease  the  per  cents  increase.  The  list 
serves  as  a  bulletin  board  to  remind  each  child  that  he  is  in  the 
game,  and  it  is  watched  with  no  little  interest. 

Children  forget  much  that  they  are  taught,  so  do  grown-ups 
forget  much;  therefore,  there  is  need  of  reviewing  as  well  as  of 
learning  new  words.  Here  a  good  spelling-book  is  indispensable. 
From  its  long  lists  of  words  each  pupil  must  learn  to  discover 
the  words  he  does  not  know  and  to  study  them.  In  the  ad- 
vanced lists  there  are  words  that  the  child  should  make  his  own. 
They  should  be  selected  by  the  teacher  for  special  study.  The 
book's  lists  also  contain  words  for  which  the  pupils  have  no  im- 
mediate use,  and  whose  meaning,  if  learned  to-day,  would  be 
forgotten  to-morrow.  Time  is  not  wasted  in  spelling  such 
words.  Their  arrangement  of  letters  and  syllables  lodge  in  the 
sub-conscious  memory,  and  when  the  words  are  needed  their 
letters  fall  in  right  order.  The  homonyms  to  be  mastered  should 
be  used  in  sentences,  sometimes  dictated  by  the  teacher  and  at 
other  times  in  sentences  constructed  by  the  pupil. 

Dictation  is  an  important  factor.  The  words  that  might  be 
misspelled  are  placed  upon  the  board  for  visualization,  and  any 
new  words  among  them  are  taught,  all  being  erased  before  dic- 
tating. 

Every  lesson  is  to  some  extent  a  spelling  lesson.  In  gram- 
mar we  review  nouns  and  teach  verbs.  Here  we  emphasize  the 


25 

rules  for  words  ending  in  y,  f,  and  fe,  and  for  doubling  a  final 
consonant.  In  history,  in  reading — indeed,  in  every  subject, 
new  words  must  be  interpreted.  The  spelling  of  the  new  word 
is  most  easily  learned  then,  and  the  habit  of  noticing  the  form 
of  a  new  word  is  acquired.  When  feasible,  other  words  having 
the  same  prefix,  stem,  or  suffix,  should  be  taught  simultaneously 
— e.  g.,  transposition,  transpire,  translate,  transatlantic,  etc. 

I  find  much  written  work  on  the  board  helpful.  Children 
are  keen  at  finding  on  the  board  such  errors  as  they  themselves 
make.  Here,  too,  is  a  chance  to  enlarge  the  vocabulary  and 
teach  synonyms ;  e.  g.,  one  pupil  wrote,  "Benedict  Arnold  was 
wounded  and  sent  to  Philadelphia  to  live."  A  few  questions 
soon  brought  from  the  class  "get  well,"  "recover,"  "recuperate," 
"convalesce." 

To  secure  the  correction  of  all  errors,  each  pupil  fastens  in 
his  spelling  book  blank  pages,  on  which  he  writes  correctly  every 
word  he  misspells,  studies  it,  and  recites  it  orally  at  any  con- 
venient time.  Not  many  words  will  appear  twice  on  the  same 
page. 

As  a  result  of  emphasizing  spelling  at  all  times,  of  constant 
vigilance,  of  publicity,  and  of  keeping  lists  of  corrected  errors, 
I  have  found  in  all  my  classes  the  little  dictionary — each  pupil 
has  one — more  and  more  in  use  as  the  weeks  go  by,  and  careless 
errors  much  less  frequent,  evidences  of  an  aroused  spelling- 
conscience,  which,  when  once  wide-awake,  will  keep  its  owner 
in  the  right  ways  of  spelling. 

RACHEL  VAN  SYCKEL, 
South  Market  Street  School, 
Newark,  New  Jersey. 


Spelling  in  Primary  Grades 


Formal  spelling  in  the  first  grade  usually  begins  after  the 
Christmas  holidays.  As  the  child's  available  material  for  spell- 
ing is  in  his  reading  lessons,  the  time  to  enter  upon  the  study 
of  spelling  words  depends  on  the  mental  maturity  of  the  class. 
When  the  class  is  ready  for  it,  spelling  lessons  should  begin. 

To  receive  impressions  the  child  must  listen;  must  visualize. 
To  make  the  impressions  permanent  he  must  pronounce,  articu- 
late, enunciate,  record  over  and  over,  until  each  motor  apparatus 
for  hearing,  seeing,  speaking  and  writing  operates  accurately, 
and  the  correct  memorized  form  of  words  is  fixed. 

Simple  breathing  exercises,  whispering  rhymes,  singing  of  the 
alphabet — old-fashioned,  but  effective — impart  freedom  and 
strength  to  the  speaking  apparatus ;  help  mould  the  thought  into 
words;  open  the  channel  for  the  voice. 

Beginning  with  the  first  rhymes  or  sentences  of  the  early 
reading  books,  the  pupils  study  aloud  with  the  teacher  each 
word,  looking  at  it  carefully,  pronouncing  it  distinctly,  listening 
to  the  sound,  and  spelling  it  orally. 

Each  pupil  chooses  any  word  he  pleases  on  his  card  or  from 
a  selected  part  of  his  reader  and  studies  it  by  himself.  Pupils 
may  stand  in  groups  or  separately,  but  each  individual  pro- 
nounces and  spells  aloud  the  word  he  has  studied.  If  a  child 
fails,  he  studies  until  the  others  have  spelled,  then  he  may  try 
again. 

From  the  card  or  a  selected  portion  of  the  reader  words  are 
dictated  to  be  spelled  orally.  A  child  missing  a  word  finds  it 
and  studies  it  until  he  is  sure  he  can  spell  it. 

When  the  children  are  able  to  write,  the  same  material  is  used 
for  written  spelling.  The  preparation  for  this  takes  from  two 
to  three  days  by  a  plan  similar  to  the  following:  oral  work 
with  teacher;  selecting,  studying,  testing  orally  by  pupils;  pu- 
pils test  themselves  by  writing  at  board  from  memory,  etc.  This 
preparation  needs  to  be  accurate  and  thorough,  standardized  by 

26 


27 

perfection  before  writing,  that  the  child  may  be  shot  through 
with  the  understanding  that  he  is  responsible  for  retaining  that 
which  he  is  taught.  Perfection  is  the  standard  for  beginners  in 
spelling;  the  teacher  must  not  be  too  eager  "for  early  yield"  on 
paper.  Spell  orally !  orally ! !  orally ! ! ! 

Let  the  perfect  paper  express  its  own  excellence  without  the 
red  or  blue  pencil  mark  or  gilt  star  to  mar  it.  Simplicity  is  the 
keynote  of  correct  work.  If  incorrect  work  is  recorded,  cor- 
rect it  at  once,  impressively  but  simply. 

To  intensify  the  correct  notion  of  words  before  the  children 
are  advanced  to  writing,  supply  them  with  scissors  and  paper, 
on  which  has  been  written  in  bold  type  the  word  or  words  to  be 
cut  out.  Teach  them  how  to  do  this  before  permitting  them  to 
work  alone. 

Spelling  by  series  requires  each  child  to  image  distinctly 
the  family  motif, — ee,  ow,  then  he  has  only  to  think  of  the 
initial  part  of  the  word,  as  s,  in  see ;  sn,  in  snow.  Work  with 
phonics  begins  early  in  the  year,  correlating  with  the  reading. 
This  is  very  essential  in  these  early  years;  later  it  may  become 
something  of  a  hindrance  if  used  without  explanation  and  too 
frequently. 

The  words  an,  be,  should,  seen,  etc.,  are  treated  as  accessory 
words  calling  for  drill  in  phrase  form,  such  as  could  see,  have 
seen,  has  done. 

Habited  by  success  in  studying  and  spelling  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  teacher,  the  children  ask  to  spell  the  names  of  ob- 
jects at  home,  such  as  lilac,  sponge;  verbs  such  as  improve, 
select.  Work  with  very  simple  synonyms  begins  now  that  the 
intelligent  thought  back  of  the  idea  may  be  properly  interpreted. 

Spelling  for  the  first  grade  naturally  evolves  from  the  read- 
ing experience;  spelling  in  the  second  grade  expands  into  spell- 
ing words  from  daily  experience  as  well  as  words  selected  from 
school  subjects,  synonyms  and  easy  homonyms. 

That  the  child  may  increase  the  habit  of  testing  his  power  of 
spelling  whatever  he  finds  to  spell,  a  little  child  stands  in  front 
of  the  class  while  each  pupil  spells  the  name  of  the  things  he 
on  or  about  the  child, — hair-ribbon,  apron,  shoes,  nose,  lips, 


28 

blouse,  navy,  stockings,  sweater,  etc.  Recently,  in  fifteen  min- 
utes, a  second  grade  spelled  orally,  without  studying,  forty-two 
words,  names  of  things  selected  from  two  little  girls  placed  be- 
fore the  class. 

Seasonal  spelling,  such  as  Easter  bunnie,  Easter  handker- 
chief, Easter  hat,  was  a  lesson  furnished  by  the  children. 

Each  child  having  a  picture,  or  drawing  one,  makes  a  list  of 
things  he  sees  in  the  picture.  After  playing  a  game,  perhaps 
"Going  to  Grandfather's  at  Thanksgiving,"  orally  spell  the 
words,  the  phrases,  or  sentences  the  game  suggests, — wagon, 
pump,  sleigh,  galloping  horses,  mince  pie;  a  jolly  ride;  Grand- 
mother roasted  the  turkey, — explaining  why  Grandmother  be- 
gins with  a  capital  and  why  the  sentence  closes  with  a  period. 

The  third  grade  advances  to  spelling  books,  but  they  do  not 
"live,  move  and  have  their  being"  in  them.  The  child's  ex- 
periences continue  to  be  the  principal  source  of  supply  for 
words  for  spelling  study.  Responsibility  for  what  he  has  learned 
in  former  classes  permeates  silently  and  relentlessly  the  demands 
ior  correct,  applied,  spelling  in  dictation  and  written  work. 

In  this  class  he  learns  that  words  are  pronounced  with  one  or 
two  or  more  pushes  of  the  voice;  that  a  part  of  a  word  may  be 
pushed  more  forcibly  than  another  part.  He  is  called  on  to 
think  of  a  list  of  five  grocery  articles,  then  to  spell  them  with- 
out further  study.  In  this  way  vinegar,  soap,  etc.,  are  brought 
under  subjection  to  memory;  names  of  things  in  the  room  and 
facts  relating  to  the  room, — radiator,  teacher's  desk,  electric 
light,  cheerful  room,  narrow  aisle.  A  poster  furnishes  words, 
phrases,  sentences. 

Dictionary  work  begins  in  the  fourth  grade.  Each  child  is 
supplied  with  one.  At  times  it  seems  overworked,  but  an  estab- 
lished dictionary  habit  does  not  interfere  with  the  habit  of  suc- 
cess. As  the  child  is  learning  to  spell,  so  is  he  storing  up  an 
enriched  vocabulary. 

Not  more  than  two  new  words  are  assigned  for  a  lesson,  but 
these  become  close  friends,  and  subordinate  words  vary  in  num- 
ber from  three  to  twenty. 

An  additional  step  in  this  grade  leads  to  the  study  of  easy 
prefixes  and  suffixes.  The  vocabulary  of  school  interests,  such 
as  Field  Day  exercises,  abound  with  concrete  experience  spell- 
ing. Spelling  by  elimination  helps  to  retain  the  evasive  letters 


29 

and  the  right  order  of  them.  Ask  as  follows:  "What  are  the 
last  two  letters  of  column?"  "Think  of  two  more  words  with 
the  same  ending."  "Give  second  syllable  of  valentine;  eighth 
letter  of  same  word;  the  third  letter;  the  fifth." 

The  successful  teaching  of  spelling  banishes  fear  of  test  and 
prepares  the  pupil  to  be  always  ready.  For  instance,  if  a  child 
spells  Lincoln's,  he  is  asked  to  spell  apostrophe  ;  sixty-three,  he 
is  asked  to  spell  hyphen.  Should  he  mention  indentation,  he  is 
asked  to  spell  it  or  to  spell  parts  of  it. 

In  these  classes,  as  in  the  first  grade,  written  spelling  is  not 
required  every  day;  however,  every  day  finds  pupils  working, 
developing,  studying,  testing,  consulting  with  their  teacher  in 
this  subject,  thereby  economizing  time  and  thought  by  creating 
perfect  models  "to  keep  and  to  hold." 

Concentrate  effort  to  make  vivid  the  mental  picture  of  the 
word  or  phrase  being  studied.  This  involves  both  the  auditory 
and  visual  notions  of  the  word,  for  in  proportion  as  the  child 
gains  the  true  image  through  the  first  vividness,  his  capacity 
for  spelling  is  enlarged. 

MYRA  I.  BILLINGS, 
Supervisor  of  Kindergarten  and  Primary  Schools, 

Atlantic  City,  New  Jersey. 


Spelling  in  Ungraded  Schools 


SUGGESTIONS  FOR  THE  UNION  OF  CLASSES  IN  SCHOOLS  OF  Two 
OR  MORE  GRADES  FOR  THE  STUDY  OF  SPELLING. 

In  schools  of  two  grades,  assuming  that  the  grades  are  se- 
quential, the  entire  school  may  be  taken  together  in  spelling. 

In  schools  of  three  and  four  grades  the  school  should  be 
divided  into  two  classes  for  the  study  of  spelling.  This  division 
should  be  made  on  the  basis  of  spelling  ability,  rather  than  on 
the  basis  of  grades.  The  division  made  up  of  the  better  spellers 
may  be  larger  than  the  other  division,  and  it  should  be  given 
more  work  and  more  opportunity  for  independent  study.  It 
might  be  made  a  special  honor  to  be  passed  from  the  lower  to 
the  higher  division.  The  divisions  might  be  remade  each  month. 

In  schools  where  there  are  two  classes  in  spelling  there  may 
be  planned  a  study  lesson,  with  the  teacher  for  each  class  on 
alternate  days.  The  written  lesson,  which  is  really  a  review, 
may  be  given  to  both  classes  at  once,  the  teacher  or  a  pupil  pro- 
nouncing a  word  for  one  division,  and  then  for  the  other  while 
the  first  division  is  writing. 

In  schools  where  there  are  six  or  eight  grades,  the  spelling  of 
grades  I-III  should  be  a  definite  part  of  the  reading  and  lan- 
guage lessons,  both  the  study  of  words  with  the  teacher  and 
the  independent  study.  Pupils  of  grades  IV-VIII  may  be  as- 
signed to  two  spelling  classes,  as  before  suggested.  A  teacher 
will  find  no  difficulty  in  conducting  written  exercises  with  two 
or  three  different  classes  at  the  same  time.  The  teacher  may 
pronounce  a  word  to  the  first  division,  then  to  the  second  and 
to  the  third,  returning  to  the  first  division  by  the  time  the  pupils 
are  ready  for  the  next  word.  The  pupils  may  pronounce  the 
words  instead  of  the  teacher. 

The  divisions  that  are  made  should  have  the  approval  of  the 
superintendent,  supervisor  or  principal,  and  the  spelling  book 
assignment  should  be  determined  by  the  need  of  each  division. 

In  schools  having  four  to  eight  grades  each  pupil  has  more 
time  for  individual  effort  than  is  assigned  in  the  school  of  one 

30 


31 

or  two  grades.  This  may  not  be  a  disadvantage  in  the  grammar 
grades,  provided  the  pupil  has  learned  how  to  study.  It  is 
therefore  particularly  necessary  that  the  teacher  in  such  a  school 
put  the  pupils  in  command  of  proper  methods  of  study.  An 
attempt  has  been  made  to  indicate  some  of  these  methods  in 
the  body  of  this  pamphlet.  The  results  of  the  independent  study 
should  show  clearly  that  the  pupil  has  been  really  putting  dis- 
criminating thought  into  his  work. 


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THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


23 

SEP  10 ISIS 


0£C  2  2 1976 


30m-l,'15 


292944 


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